The Estonian Centre for Architecture has announced an international curatorial competition to select the leading curatorial team for the eighth edition of the Tallinn Architecture Biennale (TAB 2026). The competition, launched on July 10, seeks a team with a strong vision to develop the central concept for Estonia's foremost international festival dedicated to architecture and the built environment.
The Tallinn Architecture Biennale, founded in 2011, will hold its opening week from September 9-13, 2026, with the full festival running until November 30, 2026. The selected curatorial team will be responsible for developing TAB 2026's Core Programme, which includes the Curatorial Exhibition, the Symposium, the Tallinn Vision Competition, and the TAB catalogue.
The competition is open to the public and welcomes proposals from both Estonia and international applicants. The organizers are seeking a broad spectrum of practitioners and thinkers, including architects, interior designers, landscape architects, urban planners, and scholars of architecture and art history. Proposals from applicants working across and between these disciplines are particularly encouraged, though at least one team member must be an architect, urban planner, landscape architect, or interior designer.
The appointed curatorial team will be tasked with formulating the central concept for TAB 2026, which must engage spatial and architectural concerns with a clear connection to the Estonian context as well as the wider regional Baltic and Nordic architectural space. The topic must be conceptually clear, up-to-date, address the local architectural community, and have potential for international public discourse.
Kristiina Reidolv, CEO of the Estonian Centre for Architecture, emphasized the importance of addressing contemporary global challenges through the curatorial concept. "In the face of current urgencies we are facing globally such as geopolitical security issues, climate crises or increasing social and economic inequalities, it is important that the curatorial concept should resonate more broadly with what is happening in society and spatial culture both in Estonia and the Nordic and Baltic countries," she stated. "These relevant issues can and should be tackled through culture or history."
Reidolv also highlighted the value of interdisciplinary approaches in contemporary culture. "We consider interdisciplinary approach relevant because it allows for a more comprehensive understanding of complex issues by integrating knowledge and perspectives from multiple disciplines," she explained. "In contemporary culture, the most interesting, bold and innovative ideas are often born from the common area and contact between different fields. Therefore, we encourage not only architects but also representatives of various disciplines from Estonia and abroad to apply for the curatorial competition."
The festival will consist of three main components: the Curated Core Programme, an architectural Supplementary Programme, and an interdisciplinary Satellite Programme. A distinguished jury will evaluate the entries, comprising outstanding representatives from Estonian architecture and culture as well as professionals with previous TAB curatorial experience.
The jury includes Sille Pihlak from PART Architects and Dean of the Faculty of Architecture at the Estonian Academy of Arts, Aet Ader from B210 and President of the Union of Estonian Architects, Kristiina Reidolv as Head of the Estonian Centre for Architecture, Jaan Kuusemets from DAGOpen OÜ and Associate Professor at Tallinn University of Technology TalTech who was also a member of the TAB 2024 curatorial team, and Roland Reemaa from LLRRLLRR and guest lecturer at the Estonian Academy of Arts and Central Saint Martins in London.
The competition follows a two-stage submission process. The first stage deadline is September 8, 2025, at 11:30 PM, followed by a second stage deadline on September 26, 2025. The winner will be announced on October 13, 2025. The competition is free to enter and will take place in Tallinn.
The Estonian Centre for Architecture focuses its activities on contemporary Estonian architecture and its future development. Its mission encompasses promoting and developing contemporary Estonian architecture and urban design, increasing architectural awareness, and collecting, exchanging, mediating, and disseminating architectural information both in Estonia and internationally. Through organizing the Tallinn Architecture Biennale, the center shapes the international image of Estonian architecture while also conducting architectural tours, Open House Tallinn, Urban Forums, development training in the Estonian architectural sector, and publishing materials that introduce contemporary architecture.
